Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Position in Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Boston Scientific Corporation by 13.5%, owning 68,686 shares worth approximately $6.93 million after selling 10,730 shares in the first quarter.
• Several large investors, including Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., increased their positions in Boston Scientific, with some seeing significant boosts of up to 109.9% in their holdings.
• Boston Scientific's latest quarterly earnings topped analysts' expectations with $0.75 EPS on revenue of $5.06 billion, indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 22.8%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in shares of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 68,686 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock after selling 10,730 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $6,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 73,096 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $6,529,000 after buying an additional 21,173 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 18.8% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,523 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $3,987,000 after buying an additional 6,264 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Boston Scientific during the first quarter valued at approximately $8,234,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 13.0% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,000 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 109.9% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 270,107 shares of the medical equipment provider's stock valued at $24,126,000 after buying an additional 141,398 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BSX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $117.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Boston Scientific from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Boston Scientific in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $117.50.

Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In related news, Director Yoshiaki Fujimori sold 2,901 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.99, for a total value of $310,377.99. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $222,646.19. This trade represents a 58.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael F. Mahoney sold 164,443 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.69, for a total transaction of $17,051,094.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,476,882 shares in the company, valued at $153,137,894.58. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 345,029 shares of company stock worth $35,976,603 in the last three months. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

NYSE BSX opened at $102.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.26, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.66. Boston Scientific Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.61 and a twelve month high of $108.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $103.61 and a 200 day moving average of $102.01.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical equipment provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.89 billion. Boston Scientific had a return on equity of 19.21% and a net margin of 13.55%. Boston Scientific's quarterly revenue was up 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Boston Scientific Corporation will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Boston Scientific Company Profile

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through two segments, MedSurg and Cardiovascular. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions, such as resolution clips, biliary stent systems, stents and electrocautery enhanced delivery systems, direct visualization systems, digital catheters, and single-use duodenoscopes; devices to treat urological conditions, including ureteral stents, catheters, baskets, guidewires, sheaths, balloons, single-use digital flexible ureteroscopes, holmium laser systems, artificial urinary sphincter, laser system, fiber, and hydrogel systems; and devices to treat neurological movement disorders and manage chronic pain, such as spinal cord stimulator system, proprietary programming software, radiofrequency generator, indirect decompression systems, practice optimization tools, and deep brain stimulation system.

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